Undergarment



Feb. 22, 1949. A. R. KNEIBLER UNDERGARMENT Filed Sept. 27, 1945 Patented Feb. 22, 1949 2,462,508 UNDERGARMENT Arthur R. Kneibler, Kenosha,

Coopers, Incorporated, Kenosha,

poration of Wisconsin Application September 27, 1945, Serial No. 618,809

51 Claims.

This invention relates to a new and improved undergarment, and more particularly to the lower garments or drawers for men, women, and children.

The present invention relates to garments having legs and which are of improved construction at or adjacent the crotch portion thereof.

The invention relates particularly to garments having leg portions which have a novel construction at the base of the leg portion, whereby an improved reinforcement results on the inside of the legs and adjacent the crotch along groin or crotch seams.

The invention fulfills the objects of this invention, which are to provide a double thickness of fabric at the points ment isexposed when worn, the garment is prolonged.

A second object is to provide a double thickness of fabric at the crotch portion of the garment for reinforcing and strengthening purposes without restricting the garment by coarse seaming in the inner leg area, whereby prolonged life and increased strength are provided while at the same time a high degree of elasticity in the leg opening is maintained and the tendency of the leg opening to become permanently stretched or nonsnug in its fitting qualities is reduced.

A further object of this invention is to. provide a double thickness, of crotch material to provide, in addition to reinforcement, extra abs'orbability for disposition of excess perspiration during wear.

A further object is. to. provide a garment which cut according whereby the life of to a highly practical pattern, which enables the same to be satisfactorily made quickly and inexpensively.

These and other objects not specifically enumerated are contemplated for this invention as will readily appear from the following description :and the accompanying drawings, both of which are given by way of illustration.

In the drawings- Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an undergarment constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1, except that it shows the rear view of the garment illustrated in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a plan view of the cloth blank or piece of material from which the novel leg construction is made.

Figure 4 is the piece of material illustrated in Figure 3 folded and sewed to form the leg of the garment, and showing the hem and reinforcing of friction to which the gar- Wis., assignor to Wis., a corportions sewed in overlapping relationship; and

Figure 5 shows the leg of the garment illustrated in Figure 1 while separated from the rest of the garment and to clearly illustrate how the tubular leg member is formed from the cloth piece illustrated in Figure 4.

From the various figures of the drawings it will be noted that the garment illustrated comprises a central section H)- and a pair ofleg sections ll-ll, and a waist band l2 at the top of the garment. The particular garment here illustrated is especially designed for manufacture from knitted material to provide support underwear for men of the general type illustrated in United States Letters PatentNo'. 2,232,950. Such garments have a fly opening and seams extending along the groin, which serve to connect the central portion of the garment to tubular leg portions thereof. Whereas the garment illustrated in said prior patent is primarily designed for masculine wear, the present invention, though illustrated as applied to such masculine types of garments, is applicable with equal utility'togarments for women and children. It may also be applied to garments made from non-knitted materials.

The nature of the improvements can best be understood by referring to Figures 3, 4, and, 5 wherein it will be noted that each of the leg portions illustrated in Figure 1 is formed from a piece of material cut in the shape represented generally in Figure 3. The piece of material consists of a main portion l3 and an overlapping portion [4 which, as best illustrated in Figure 3, is adapted to be folded along the fold-line l5 so as to form combined hem and reinforcing members at the bottom of the leg ll. As indicated in Figures 3 and 4, the hem is adapted to be attached along its edge It to the body of the piece by stitching l'l. By virtue of the fact that the fold-line i5 is arcuate rather than straight, it has the effect of spreading or turning out the reinforcing portions of the hem so as to open up the arcuate edge marked 11 into a broader are which lies along the seam line l6 so as to be sewed as at If knitted material is used, the wales of the material may extend vertically, as represented by the lines l9, and as a result of the enlargement or outward extension of the edge ii, the wales fan outwardly as represented in Figure 4 so that in the reinforcing portions not only is the double thickness provided but the two thicknesses of knitted material are composed of wales which run in different directions, that is to say, in

directions which are angularly disposed with respect to each other. The angle is such, however, that good elasticity and stretch are provided and greater strength and resistance are built into the garment.

After the leg piece is formed as shown in Figure 4, the same is sewed to the the base of the associated leg portion, and an extension of knitted material secured to the inof said leg provided with a seam son the inside thereof, and has said reinforcing both sides of said seam. 3. Agarment of the construction defined in position. 5. A garment of claim 1, further characterized I ARTHUR 'R. KNEIBLER. REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent; V

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Thomas May 24, 1932 Cooney Dec. 5, 1933 Kneibler Feb. 25, 1941 Kneibler j May 11, 1943 Goodman et al. Aug.114, 1945 Number 

